Last nite my girl Currie was stung by several bees and went into anaphylactic shock, it was so scarey, she could not breath, her face was swollen her eyes closed, her underside and ears went bright pink and her gums very pale. I called the emerg vet and they told me to give her 25 mg of benedryl every 6 hrs (3 doses in total) and she was fine. I urge all of you to have that on hand it saved her life. My husband is allergic to bees and we did have an epi pen the dose was to strong for her but you can get them from the vet for dogs.

I set my alarm for 3:30 am for her second dose, we did not sleep all night I was so worried about her but thismorning she was fine and ready to take on the day

Thankyou both and Currie has recieved her hugs, she has gotten many since last nite altho she has no idea why but she loves it none the less. I don't know what I would do without her.....she is my rock. Just wanted to warn everyone to the dangers of bee stings if another dog is saved because of this knowledge we will be very happy, I cannot imagine any of you going through whht we went through last nite and I hope you never do, it was afull.

Toonces, glad that Currie is okay after her ordeal.......it must have been frightening for you.

We always have benadryl (actually one of the no name brands) on hand as we get lots of wasps here with the fruit trees. Irregardless, I think it should be a staple in everyone's pet first aid kit "just in case".

Glad that your pup is okay - I know it hurts. I bought Benadryl after reading of a dog that wouldn't have made it to the vet after a bee sting if he hadn't been given Benadryl soon after the sting - shock was that bad. I bought fresh stock this year - it was hard just finding plain Benadryl - no sugar etc. -for allergic reactions only. They had all of these combo Benadryl products for multi-symptoms.

Just a caution with Benadryl and cats: For one, it tastes nasty and could make your cat foam at the mouth if it doesn't go right down the hatch (also make sure to follow all pills with a few cc's of water to avoid Erosive Esophagitis. The other thing is, be very cautious giving antihistamines if your cat has heart problems, it can be a deadly combo.

excuse my ignorance, but in Australia, benadryl is a cough mixture. What is the benadryl you are referring to for bee stings, an antihistamine? It sounds like it is intended as a human medicine. Can it be used for horses as well?

Benadryl is an antihistamine that is bought at any drugstore/pharmacy and is used to fight allergies and hay fever (sneezing, runnynose, itchy watery eyes, skin itch and hives according to the packaging). I buy a box of 12 caplets (25mg) each and give Harley 1/2 when he is having an issue with his allergies. Harley weighs about 16 lbs and that is the suggested dosage from the Vet.

As for horses....I don't know if it can be used. I guess your Vet would be able to tell you, but I also don't know if these pills come in a higher dose.

Benadryl is a trade name and the drug name is diphenhydramine. It can be used in humans, dogs, cats, horses, cattle, many birds, rabbits, ferrets and some pocket pets. Remember all 'human' medication had to be tested on animals first.

Benadryl is typicaly dosed IN DOGS: at a mg/lb of weight. (or 2.2mg/kg). Before giving, always as your vet though. Also watch the labels to make sure there is no Tylenol or other active ingredients in the medication.

In horses the dose is lower per weight and typically given either as intravenous or intramuscular injection.

Toonces, so glad to hear that Currie recovered. Shadow is also allergic to bee stings - so go figure how come I have two bee hives in my back yard (where she is NOT allowed to go). So far she has avoided conflict with them. But she also had the huge reaction and a trip to emerg. We also keep Benadryl on hand (I buy the generic one at the drug store) watch because it does have a shelf life also - don't want to keep it around past it's expiry date and then hope that it works. for Currie - hope she won't mind the late hug

I am so sorry to hear about Currie. Glad she's doing better though. I wished I had known about benadryl and that it works on animals too yesterday. My baby waffles ( 1yr. Chihuahua) was having anaphylactic shock about 10pm yesterday. He started throwing up, having diarrhea and stop breathing. I had no idea what had happen because I just barely came home from work. As a student nurse. First thing came to mind was cpr. It worked he started breathing again. Everything happened so fast that even I was in shock. I had no idea where there was a vet around since I just moved and didn't think he was going to make it if I started driving around. Of course as a student I was scared about the bill too but would do anything if I had to though. He started breathing on his own after about 2 minutes and gain conciousness again. I stayed up with him until 5 in the morning and he seem to be back to himself again. Still weak and scared but besides that he seem ok. Only one change is that he never urinate on my bed and after the situation he did it twice. He usually holds it until he goes outside in the yard. If anyone has any info on that. I would really appreciate it. I know I should take him to the vet though. ohhh!! forgot to mention I found a crawling bee under my living room table this morning. I almost sure he was stung and had a allergic reaction. But still cant find the stinger. Thank you for posting the information about the benadryl on animals.

I'm glad that Currie is okay.
My Labrador was allergic to stings too and a couple of times she chased bees/wasps and was bitten.
Her head swelled and we'd run to the vet. It was so scary.
My cat has been bitten on the lip a few times.... it will swell, but thankfully no allergic reaction.

__________________
Bina
Please have pets spayed and neutered,
and wearing a collar with an ID tag.

I have Benadryl handy at all times as I have one allergic to stings and she has a habit of chasing them! Another thing that works is Bach's flower remedies. Rock Rose. A couple of drops on the tongue works wonders.

Jaida was stung, presumably by a bee/wasp, last week. Her muzzle ballooned and her eyes swelled shut. Luckily she didn't have any trouble breathing that we could see, but she was NOT happy...I got two benadryl (we have them on hand for her seasonal allergies) in her quick quick and she started feeling better fairly quickly. It was pretty scary though.

Benadryl is a trade name and the drug name is diphenhydramine. It can be used in humans, dogs, cats, horses, cattle, many birds, rabbits, ferrets and some pocket pets. Remember all 'human' medication had to be tested on animals first.

Benadryl is typicaly dosed IN DOGS: at a mg/lb of weight. (or 2.2mg/kg). Before giving, always as your vet though. Also watch the labels to make sure there is no Tylenol or other active ingredients in the medication.

In horses the dose is lower per weight and typically given either as intravenous or intramuscular injection.

Is the dose the same for cats as dogs ?? I would like to know since i only have cats.

I had a cat named Junior that was allergic to bees, he got stung 3 different times in his life time. He just wouldnt leave them alone. But the vet never told me about using benadryl. He gave him antibiotics. He never went into shock, but he got sick and wouldnt eat. :sad: